In a joint statement released on Monday, oil ministers from Russia and Saudi Arabia said the present crude oil production reduction agreement reached last November — put in place to raise crude prices — should be extended for another year, even though it is unlikely to work.

Hello, Bakken. Goodbye, OPEC. The latest report from North Dakota’s state oil and gas division showed that crude oil production for March is back up over a million barrels a day, an increase of nearly nine percent since December and almost double what the state produced five years ago, dooming OPEC's clout in the oil industry.

On May 25, OPEC oil ministers will meet in Vienna to decide whether or not its present oil-output-cut agreement should be extended. Either way, OPEC’s doom as the prime determiner of world crude oil prices is likely sealed.